Company Interview / the open: ASX to slip 📉 tomorrow’s RBA meeting in focus

The local market is set to add to recent losses this morning with ASX futures down 0.14%. This follows a very negative session on global markets on Friday as oil prices rose further with the Iran war continuing to disrupt energy supplies, heightening concerns over fuel prices and interest rates. 

Stocks on Wall Street resumed their sell-off, led by losses on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 ended down about 5% from its record closing high from late January, while the small-cap Russell 2000 ended at its lowest level since the beginning of the year.

 Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said that Treasury was expecting headline inflation to hit the “mid to high fours” this year due to the Middle East oil price shock, well above the RBA’s target range of 2-3%. The central bank is expected to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.1% when it announces its policy decision tomorrow.

US President Donald Trump threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island over the weekend and said he was not ready to reach a deal to end the war which has shut the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rose more than 3% over the weekend to $103 a barrel, the highest price since in 4 years. 

The US dollar index rose more than half a percent on Friday. Meanwhile, risk aversion has seen the Australian dollar fall below 70 US cents.